Formal Notice Sent to Enbridge

Attorney General Bill Schuette and Department of Environmental Quality Director Dan Wyant have sent a formal notice to Enbridge calling on the company to meet its requirement to install additional anchors for two oil pipelines laid in the Mackinac Straits more than sixty years ago. Enbridge has acknowledged that it is currently not in compliance with their agreement with the state which limits the maximum span or length of unsupported pipe in the pipelines constructed in 1953. The agreement requires pipeline supports at least every 75 feet to ensure the stability of the pipelines running along the lake bed. The company said last month that some portions of the pipelines do not meet that requirement. Enbridge noted it intends to install additional supports this year so that they would be spaced an average of 50 feet apart.